Coca-Cola to build new school buildings after successful fundraiser

Coca-Cola Philippines concluded another successful run of its fundraiser, the Coca-Cola Golf Classic, after eleven years of rallying partners to help build schools across the Philippines. The tournament, which took place at the Sta. Elena Golf and Country Club, gathered over 150 players from 33 organizations.

All proceeds will go to the building of classrooms as part of the Little Red Schoolhouse (LRS) Project being run by the Coca-Cola Foundation Philippines, Inc.

“LRS is one of our flagship programs, which started back in 1997—a response to the Department of Education’s call for private sector players to help address classroom shortage in the Philippines. Its impact is better seen now after 18 years of dedicated work, but we are not stopping just yet,” says Atty. Adel Tamano, Vice President for Public Affairs and Communications, Coca-Cola Philippines.

The program has since built over 300 classrooms and positively impacted more than 60,000 children and 3,000 public school teachers, most of who came from the country’s far-flung villages. Coca-Cola Philippines reached the 100th classroom-mark in 2012, after which, it continued to build in other priority areas as identified by its partner, Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP) and Aklat, Gabay, Aruga Tungo sa Pag-angat at Pag-asa (AGAPP) Foundation.

“Most of our resources last year were redirected towards rebuild efforts in areas ravaged by Typhoon Yolanda, including Tacloban City. The Golf Classic proceeds, for example, along with donations of Company employees, went on to fund six a two-storey, six-classroom building in Marasbaras Elementary School. It is the first disaster-resilient school we built in the country, complete with features such as a roof deck for possible evacuation, wider doors and windows in every room, and one rest room per floor,” adds Cecile Alcantara, President of Coca-Cola Foundation Philippines.

“As a company, we have always been committed to making a difference in the communities that we serve. Our programs on wellbeing, women empowerment, water-stewardship, including disaster recovery went full swing last year thanks to the effort of our friends and partners. For us at Coca-Cola, the Little Red Schoolhouse is and will always be a concrete way to give back to the Filipino children,” Alcantara added.

Zuellig Pharma Team A, with Aguilar, Cruz, Jamias, Relauyo, emerged as this year’s overall champion. The other winners included Business Mirror (Class A Champion), Unionbank (Class B Champion), Coca-Cola Team B (Class C Champion). Other winners include: Exequiel Lampa, Perry Pe, and Anton Cabangon for Nearest the Pin; Gabby Lopez, Bing Lapus, and Jere Fregil for Most Accurate Drive; and still Jere Fregil and Juanchit Jose for Longest Drive.